


Sunrise

by ikonisch (discordinparadise)



Category: iKON (Korea Band)
Genre: Discovery, Falling In Love, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Romantic Fluff, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, binhwan are adorable and sad, chanwoo's pov, chanwoo's really whipped, life lessons with hanbin, lots of feels in this one, yunchan being iconic once again, yunchan sometimes go and see the sunrise, yunhyeong's just so cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-22
Updated: 2019-05-22
Packaged: 2020-03-09 17:45:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18921958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/discordinparadise/pseuds/ikonisch
Summary: "Sometimes it's scary. Most times it's not, because it's not even like we're dating. We haven't even kissed.""Dating doesn't need to entail a massive change. Why did you guys decide to label it in the first place?""Because Yunhyeong-hyung thought that every time I invite him to look at the sunrise, they seem like dates.""You invite him to- dude! You have game."" He said he liked me and then I was like 'hey that's cool, I think so do I?' and then boom. Dating.""Great grammar there."





	Sunrise

It was early,  _far_  too early in the morning as Chanwoo waited in the park, hands in his pockets and face raised to the sky. The sun was just peeking out, glistening against the waveringly temporary blue canvas that was the dark sky and painting the field in a soft, low light that made Chanwoo feel like maybe world peace could actually be an option one day.

Which basically meant that the dawn was making Chanwoo delirious.

As he walked forward a little, he couldn't quite decide whether the light cast over the park was yellow or blue. It was like deciding whether Junhoe was mad or hungry, or if Jinhwan was happy or planning everyone's imminent death but either way, it was beautiful.

...

_Okay, maybe not the best examples._

"Pretty sky, huh?"

Chanwoo blinked and he was just about to turn around when a lithe body crashed into him from behind, wrapping his arms around his middle and Chanwoo looked down which was a bad idea; his heart absolutely melted when he saw the mittens on the hands. "Hyung-"

"I told you I'd come! You believed me, right?" Yunhyeong asked worriedly, his hold on Chanwoo tightening and the younger tried to hide his smile even though no-one would be able to see it.

"Sure I did, you always come."

"But I just...I'm a bit late today..."

Chanwoo turned around, making Yunhyeong pull his arms back in surprise and the former gave him a raised eyebrow. "You think that matters when I've got this gorgeous sunrise to look at?"

"Well, duh because we gotta watch it  _together_ , idiot," Yunhyeong huffed, intertwining one of his arms with Chanwoo's like it was second nature and dragging him over to the bench that was nestled right in the middle of the end of the park, a perfect place to watch the sky without any trees interrupting the process. And Chanwoo simply followed, even if he whined about how his feet hurt and Yunhyeong was pulling too hard and that being dragged was a  _federal crime_  but it was all to hide it. And 'it' was a lot of things. The way he loved having Yunhyeong close. The amount of fondness held in Chanwoo's eyes when he looked at the other, that he never tried to hide but maybe he should.

The fact that the sunset couldn't be the only thing Chanwoo wanted to stare at, when someone else was more gorgeous.

"I always wonder why you do this," Yunhyeong asked quietly as they sat on the bench, leaning against each other like they were one and the same. "You or I could be sleeping, being lazy, all that stuff but instead, you get up at dawn to watch the sunset."

"With  _you_. You missed the best part," Chanwoo said pointedly and Yunhyeong was silent for a while long enough to get the younger worried before he let out a small, almost disbelieving snort.

"I thought you said I didn't matter."

"I'm an impulsive liar, hyung, you must know this. Who knows which statement was true?"

The snort turned into a giggle and Chanwoo grinned, letting Yunhyeong rest his head on his shoulder as they looked up at the sky together, both wordless and awed. And it wasn't long before ever-so-slowly, Yunhyeong reached out and intertwined one of his hands with Chanwoo's. It made the latter flinch at first, but when he actually looked at the elder who had a soft smile on his lips and a carefree look in his eyes, he only squeezed the guy's hand and Yunhyeong squeezed back.

Chanwoo wondered when the day would come when Yunhyeong would stop squeezing back. Because soon, someone would take possession of his nice hands and it couldn't be him. Maybe  _now_  it could. But not forever.

"You look pretty under the sunset. All...glowy and fairytaley," Yunhyeong murmured as he looked up at Chanwoo from the younger's shoulder, his eyes glossing over him and Chanwoo was snapped out of his thoughts, instead looking at Yunhyeong weirdly. "Like a sun prince."

"What an intriguing notion," Chanwoo said coolly, lowering his voice on purpose to sound 'heroic' and Yunhyeong laughed yet again, pulling their linked hands towards his lap so he could play with Chanwoo's. It was honestly  _crazy_  how soft Yunhyeong's fingers felt as they ran across Chanwoo's skin, his touch leaving light tingles in its wake. "Hey, hyung."

"Mhm?"

"If you could have just  _one_  wish that would come true immediately, what would it be?"

"...I can't wish for more wishes?"

"Nope."

Yunhyeong frowned in thought before he mumbled, "Well...it'll just be that iKON can stay healthy and together and happy forever, that's the biggest thing I want. I don't want to lose any of you..."

Chanwoo felt like melting at the answer, dismissing how cliché it was by the fact that it was adorable, but he couldn't  _physically_  show the dismissal, could he now? "Well that's cute but not-"

"I  _really_  don't want to lose you," Yunhyeong hummed, bringing their hands up to his lips absentmindedly and though they mostly rested on Chanwoo's hand, Chanwoo could feel the tickle of something gentle pressing on his knuckles slightly and he could have burnt brighter than a tomato. "Ever."

"Me neither," Chanwoo murmured, leaning to the side to brush away the hair that was falling into Yunhyeong's face, and the elder smiled gratefully.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For the hair thing. But for absolutely everything, too."

And Chanwoo really didn't know how to reply to that, because he didn't know what 'everything' meant.

 

 

 

 

 

It was too early when Chanwoo woke up.

He didn't even know  _why_  he woke up. He seemed more disoriented than ever, his head whirling this way and that when he just wanted it to stay  _still_. He huffed a little as he rubbed at his eyes and pushed away his covers, almost falling out of his bed but he was too tired to even be able to do  _that_.

Wow.

He tiptoed through the corridor, peeking his head into Hanbin's room when he saw that shock, horror, the door was OPEN, then blinked when he noticed that it was empty; though to be honest, he wasn't really that surprised. He was probably with Jiwon or Jinhwan somewhere, either feeding his insomnia or being more productive than Chanwoo ever would be. Probably both.

"Let's go to the kitcheeeeen," Chanwoo sang sleepily with a wobbly few strides towards the mentioned place. He couldn't help but wish that Yunhyeong was there with his miraculous ways to soothe him back to sleep, but that was far too much to ask.

_...the light's on?_

Chanwoo's steps were more tentative and careful now as he peeked behind the door only to see Jinhwan and Hanbin sitting at the kitchen counter, speaking in hushed whispers and breathy laughs with champagne flutes between their fingers. Chanwoo's eyes widened as he decided that they probably just wanted to be alone but before he could leave, Hanbin caught sight of him and grinned widely. "Chan!"

"Hey, hyung," Chanwoo said with a small smile which Jinhwan mirrored as he ushered the boy over.

"Come, you want champagne?"

"Ah, no thanks..."

"He's kidding, it's just lemonade," Hanbin snorted, pouring Chanwoo a cup anyway and Jinhwan grumbled, "I  _wish_  it was champagne but you're too pernickety."

"Who drinks at three am?"

"Uh, do you even  _know_  how many times I've done that?"

"That's bad, hyung, very bad."

"I swear to God..."

"Well, you guys seem to be having fun," Chanwoo said amusedly, taking the flute that Hanbin handed him. The bubbles fizzled quietly in the glass cage and Chanwoo was taken by them for a moment. Silence followed instantly, but Jinhwan happened to be the one to break it.

"So what you doing up, kid?"

"I don't really know...I'm just thinking. About someone. About things."

"Would the someone be  _me_ by any chance?" Hanbin asked, his voice saccharine sweet as he batted his eyelashes and Chanwoo laughed behind his glass. Jinhwan lightly chopped Hanbin's neck.

"Idiot."

"I take pride in that, hyung, thank you."

"So who's the 'someone'? A friend? Family member? A girl you like? Or a guy, I actually have  _no_  idea which way you swing," Jinhwan said flatly and Chanwoo shrugged, used to Jinhwan being so unfiltered because the guy was so comfortable in his own sexuality that it was almost intimidating.

"They're just special. And they plague my mind a lot so it's not really that out of the ordinary."

"Oh dang, Chanwoo, when did you catch lovesickness?!" Hanbin gasped and Jinhwan frowned deeply, pressing the back of his hand to Chanwoo's forehead and gasping himself, "Did you feel that? He's burning up with  _love._ "

"Our kiddie's gonna die, it's too deadly!" Hanbin wailed, falling back onto Jinhwan which didn't faze the elder in the slightest. Chanwoo groaned quietly, putting his head in his hands.

"I'm  _not_  in love."

"Nowadays, I can sense the terrible case of lovesickness better than anyone," Jinhwan sighed and Hanbin nodded in firm agreement, pointing at Jinhwan.

"He really can."

"Just make sure you're happy and that it doesn't plague you a little  _too_  much, yeah? We're here for you even if you kill someone, we'll find a place for you to bury it in no time."

"That's rather morally questionable, but thank you," Chanwoo replied, actually feeling rather touched and Jinhwan nodded at him while Hanbin wrapped an arm around one of Chanwoo's. "You guys are the best, you know? And I guess...I guess I'm kind of jealous."

"Jealous?"

"You guys have this kind of bond that's so mutual and perfect and you don't saturate or strain it," Chanwoo sighed, leaning his head against Hanbin's shoulder just a little. "You don't hide anything from each other. You don't lie, you just... _be_. Exist in perfection, I don't know."

Hanbin and Jinhwan both looked at each other for a moment then, some kind of telepathic conversation going on before Jinhwan looked away and then Hanbin was nudging Chanwoo, saying, "Come on, kid, you're uttering nonsense, time to sleep for you!"

"Aw, but I'm not sleepy," Chanwoo frowned, his voice involuntarily trailing off as if he was unsure of himself and Jinhwan snorted, "Oh sure, and I'll room with this guy for eternity."

"Hey, that wouldn't be so bad!" Hanbin yelped but he backed down a little once Jinhwan sent him a raised eyebrow, though still grumbling under his breath about how Jinhwan was stupid and judgemental and didn't see things for their true worth- honestly, Chanwoo was finding it pretty hard to follow so he gave up.

"I'm probably just annoying you, I guess I'll go," Chanwoo mumbled, getting up but he was stopped by Hanbin's panicked voice.

"Wait, no, you're not annoying us!"

"'Course not but do rest up, yeah?" Jinhwan murmured, his voice raspy yet soft as he looked up at Chanwoo. "You've been outside almost all day and you'll  _definitely_  regret it if you don't get some shut-eye."

"Go get Yunhyeong-hyung to sing you a lullaby if it'll help," Hanbin teased, poking the younger's side and Chanwoo turned away sheepishly, saying a quiet goodnight only to be met by a mixture of bright and dull (but meaning well) send-offs that made Chanwoo's spirits rise a little higher. And then he was stumbling off, weariness settling in his bones but he knew that he still wouldn't be able to properly sleep no matter how hard he tried, not after he had been woken up so well.

But then his saviour, a gorgeous angel wearing white appeared to grace his life with hope...after coming out of the bathroom. But an angel nonetheless. "Hyung..."

"Chanwoo?"

Yunhyeong was the absolute epitome of surprise, his eyes wide and mouth slightly open. The light from the bathroom behind him illuminated him amazingly, giving his entire body a halo and it dazzled Chanwoo for a moment, making him stare gormlessly before he snapped out of it and tried to grin instead. "Hey!"

"Why are you awake?" Yunhyeong whispered, turning off the light before cautiously walking towards Chanwoo who furrowed his eyebrows.

"I could ask the same thing."

"I asked first, that entitles you and  _only_  you to answer!"

Chanwoo rolled his eyes, smiling at Yunhyeong's absurdity. He wondered how Yunhyeong did it, how he was  _possibly_  the bright character he was because sometimes, a lot of times, he didn't seem real.

"Something woke me up, but I'm not sure what," Chanwoo sighed. "And now I gotta sleep again and I don't  _wanna._ "

"Agh, you sound like such a kid," Yunhyeong teased, circling around Chanwoo only to tackle him into a back hug, nosing the younger's neck and beaming when Chanwoo let out a small burst of laughter. "I bet the instant you crash into your bed, it'll be sweet dreams."

"You bet wrong," Chanwoo muttered and Yunhyeong frowned in worry, hooking his chin over Chanwoo's shoulder. "I'll try my best, though..."

"How about I stay with you again tonight? Just until you fall asleep."

Chanwoo turned around in Yunhyeong's arms and peered at the guy suspiciously. "You sure?"

"Anything for you, idiot," Yunhyeong confirmed with a grin, lightly punching Chanwoo's arm. And then they were both going back to Chanwoo's room, stars between them as Yunhyeong twirled Chanwoo around in a messy waltz and they both fell onto the bed laughing, arms reaching out for each other.

 

 

 

 

 

It was always a treat to wake up to Yunhyeong sleeping because it was both always adorable, and always different. Sometimes he'd be laying stock still on his side with one leg hanging off the bed. Sometimes he'd be moving about with soft mumbles and whines. Sometimes he'd be cuddled into Chanwoo and sometimes Chanwoo would be cuddled into him, or both. It never mattered.

Yunhyeong was snuggling into the duvet when Chanwoo woke up, and the sight startled him into speechlessness before he laid back down with his his head right next to Yunhyeong's, smiling a little. Lips puckered out a little all soft-looking and pink, the smoothest skin, face scrunched up just the tiniest bit, hair a fluffy mop atop it all, and the amazing thing was that Yunhyeong couldn't have  _possibly_  sold his soul to the devil for his looks because he was too sweet for that.

 _Seriously,_  Chanwoo thought, sitting up a little,  _he doesn't have to be this gorgeous._

Don't try and imagine Yunhyeong's screech when he woke up to see Chanwoo smirking at him. Your ears won't be the same.

"You said you'd only stay 'til I fall asleep, hyung."

Yunhyeong blinked groggily before he scrabbled at the bedsheets, sitting up. "Where are-"

"Shh, it's alright. It's just my room," Chanwoo soothed, stroking up and down Yunhyeong's back gently and Yunhyeong slowly relaxed, clutching onto Chanwoo's shirt loosely as he flopped back onto the bed. Chanwoo smiled, and the sleepy grin he got in return was the best thing. "Hey, pretty."

Yunhyeong's smile grew bigger as he closed his eyes again. "Don't call me that."

"You ended up falling asleep before me, you know."

"Did I? Ugh, no..."

"It's alright, you still helped me sleep."

"Did I?" Yunhyeong asked again, opening his eyes a fraction to look up at Chanwoo while curling a hand around his arm, pulling him back down too weakly for it to impact but Chanwoo let him. "How?"

"Do I need to answer that?" Chanwoo questioned with a quirked eyebrow, grinning when Yunhyeong's arms that were clinging to the blanket went around him, swaddling them both with the sheets. Now him and Yunhyeong were nose-to-nose and it was too much, too cute, too cloying all at once but Chanwoo couldn't pull away when that would probably hurt Yunhyeong's feelings. So he stayed, smiling when Yunhyeong lowered his voice to a whisper.

"What time is it...?"

"Something like six am."

"Oh...that's...early?"

"I wake up early."

"Me too. Do you?"

"Yeah, you didn't know?"

"No, I- I think I did."

Early morning dues. That was probably messing Yunhyeong's mind up, Chanwoo could let him off.

"Wanna get up?"

Yunhyeong nodded, hair swishing across the pillow and Chanwoo smiled, sitting up and taking hold of Yunhyeong's hand to pull him up as gracefully as he could and Yunhyeong giggled. "I'm your prince now?"

"Ew, don't go that far. Also wouldn't I get beheaded for sleeping in the same bed as a prince?"

Yunhyeong blinked at him. "Why do you need to think like that, Chanwoo?"

Chanwoo blinked back, now confused at himself. "I don't know."

Junhoe had apparently never been on swings, and Jiwon seemed to find that absolutely blasphemous. Absolutely everyone knew about Junhoe's acrophobia which was probably the reason why, but Jiwon still called a 'family meeting' and slammed a flask onto the table to begin it which had them all groaning. Especially late-night lemonade-hungover Jinhwan and Hanbin.

"We're going to a park."

"No, no way, shut up," Hanbin grumbled, falling into Jinhwan's side. The elder lazily patted his arm before falling into Chanwoo's side himself and Chanwoo raised an eyebrow at them.

"This man here,  _this_  exact specimen," Jiwon said firmly, throwing his arms out into Junhoe's direction and Junhoe was just rubbing his eyes, looking very regretful, "has not discovered the true as in TRUE joy of being at a park and I need to remedy this!"

"And how do you know this?" Donghyuk asked pointedly, peering up at Jiwon tiredly and the latter blinked.

"He told me."

"Why were you guys even talking to each other?" Yunhyeong asked and Jiwon blinked even more, clearly having not prepared for this.

"Okay, hyung, we'll go to the park," Chanwoo called out to change the subject and Jiwon lit up immediately, cheering while Hanbin yelled out "WHY THE HELL DOES THE YOUNGEST DECIDE WHAT WE GET TO DO" and Yunhyeong smiled at Chanwoo for a second before he was getting up, jostling everyone to go get ready. Chanwoo just grinned at all of them, patting Donghyuk's back as the elder fell onto him and mumbled resilience into his hoodie. But here they still were, walking off into the crisp sunny morning with the laziest outfits except for Donghyuk who was always the pinnacle of fashion.

"Come on!" Jiwon called out, turning around while he was running to the park to flail his arms at the others and Chanwoo rolled his eyes but went a bit faster, and so did Junhoe albeit very stiffly. Donghyuk and Yunhyeong were doing some sort of higgledy-piggledy hopscotch with their arms linked, giggles washing over them and Chanwoo had to think that the improving weather had to be what was getting everyone in a good mood. Even Hanbin was singing off-key while twirling around Jinhwan who had his hands over his ears, even if a smile was peeking from his lips. All of it just really made Chanwoo happy.

Chanwoo had zoned out so long that he only snapped out of it when he walked straight into the fence, making him jolt and look down, before up. Wow, everyone had already gone places by the looks of it. Jiwon was dragging Donghyuk who was dragging Junhoe to the swings (so, Jiwon was indirectly dragging Junhoe?), and Junhoe was smiling through the clear nerves on his face. Chanwoo looked around some more, and his eyes caught onto Yunhyeong and Jinhwan on the stationary roundabout, talking. Yunhyeong caught his eye and waved, making Chanwoo smile. Before screaming a little when a hand clamped onto his shoulder.

"Come on, kiddo, let's talk."

The grass was soft underneath Chanwoo as they sat down on the field, far from the others but not too far. Hanbin nudged him, giving him a smile. "What's up with you, huh? We barely ever go out as all seven but you still find it better to only watch?"

"You guys are just weird, and sweet. I like seeing this strange friendship thing going on."

"You're our friend too, Chan."

"I know! And I  _do_  join you guys, sometimes it just has to take a while."

"Well," Hanbin said, reaching out behind him to open his bag, which Chanwoo had predicted including more songwriting material for Hanbin to hide under a bench and do without any of them noticing. But Hanbin pulled out two glass bottles of lemonade and held one out to Chanwoo. "I'm gonna get you to join me so often that you'll start getting addicted to this stuff."

"I've really never known about this lemonade thing you've got going on."

"Oh, it's new. Got a sample of it at a stall in a market at Kobe and the instant I got back in Korea, bought a lifetime supply."

"Seriously?"

"Do I lie to you?"

"Yes."

"No-one asked you, shut up."

Chanwoo snorted, clinking glasses with Hanbin and in seconds, Hanbin was already on his way to downing the drink in one. Moments passed, with Chanwoo taking gentle sips as the breeze ran through the air, never trying to win a race. It ran for itself. Chanwoo could hear screeching in the distance and immediately knew the others must be trying to do something to Yunhyeong. Maybe pushing him up too high on the swings?

"Chanwoo."

Chanwoo snapped out of it and turned to their leader, but Hanbin wasn't looking at him. He was looking ahead, arms casually draped across his knees as his hands clutched his lemonade bottle, and there was no emotion on his face. Or maybe there was. There was serenity. And something akin to pride, but also so close to disbelief. "Yeah?"

"How long have you been dating Yunhyeong-hyung?"

Chanwoo's eyes grew wide as he slowly turned his head, staring back at the ground as his own bottle grew heavier in his hands. God, for a second he almost couldn't breathe until, until Hanbin's hand rested on his arm. Then in a moment, it got better.

"How did you-"

"I asked you something."

"One month."

"Okay. Well, you've been good at hiding it."

Chanwoo blinked. "You're saying that but you figured it out?"

"Oh, Chanwoo, come on, I'm not that smart. Not with emotions. I just saw a text from Yunhyeong calling you boyfriend when you made me hold your phone in the car the other day."

Chanwoo blanched now, eyebrows raised to the sky. " _What_? I never saw that-"

"I deleted it, out of...slight panic," Hanbin laughed sheepishly, making Chanwoo wonder if he wanted to smile at that. "But I'm happy. I'm happy that you both get to have this."

_But it's only temporary. I know it is, because we both know we're not meant to end up together. We're not meant to marry because we couldn't even do that, we're not meant to grow old together, we're not meant to do those things. I just get him until he tells me that it's time to stop. Because I'll never be the one to let go first._

"Sometimes it's scary. Most times it's not, because it's not even  _like_  we're dating. We haven't even kissed."

"Dating doesn't need to entail a massive change. Why did you guys decide to label it in the first place?"

"Because Yunhyeong-hyung thought that every time I invite him to look at the sunrise, they seem like dates."

"You invite him to- dude! You have  _game._ "

" He said he liked me and then I was like 'hey that's cool, I think so do I?' and then boom. Dating."

"Great grammar there."

"Literally word for word, I am  _terrible_  at this romance stuff. And sometimes I think too deep. About how, I can't let myself fall in love with him."

"For iKON?"

"That. And for him. I can't put him in danger, that is  _not_  something I'm allowed to do."

Hanbin smiled softly and it surprised Chanwoo a bit, wondering what was on the guy's mind. "You're like Jinhwan-hyung. You're not selfish like me."

"Wait, what?"

"Each day, I ask Jinhwan out," Hanbin said, looking back across the park to where Jinhwan was being spun far too fast on the roundabout by Donghyuk and Jiwon. "And every time, he says no." 

Chanwoo's eyes were wide by now as he stared at Hanbin, having no idea what to even  _think_  about something like that. Oh God. He could see the shine of sadness in Hanbin's eyes and suddenly, he wished this talk had never happened, so they could both go back to staying blissfully oblivious to each other. This was too much.

"Why?"

"Because like you, he knows life won't allow it."

"Why do you do it if you know the answer will be no?"

Hanbin laughed, and it didn't sound humourless but Chanwoo knew it was. "Because I'm in love with him and sometimes I just hope that he might let me in. It's futile hope but somehow it's still there."

"Doesn't it hurt to be rejected?"

"Well, duh. But I've built up some anaesthesia over time. You don't need to worry about me. It usually goes like this: I'll ask him and then he'll say no and then he'll hug me for like ten minutes. He always feels so bad even though I tell him not to. So look, Chanwoo, all I can tell you is be careful and make sure it's worth it."

Chanwoo had to think.

_Make sure it's worth it._

Yunhyeong was worth everything. But throw Chanwoo and dating and the prospect of  _the_   _future_  into the equation then the meaning of 'everything' got a bit more questionable...but Chanwoo, he'd lost his head. It wasn't allowing him to think rationally when Yunhyeong's laughter would plague his mind, and his skin would tingle at the memories of Yunhyeong's soft kisses on the back of his neck from lazy afternoons.

"It appears," Hanbin said, eyes twinkling as he brought his lemonade near his lips, "that it seems to be so."

They both went back to the park soon enough, even if only to witness what happened after Jiwon managed to find a four-leaf clover.

"GIVE IT TO ME!" Donghyuk screeched, falling on top of Jiwon who yelped as he collapsed on the ground, struggling to crawl away as Donghyuk reached out for the clover, and Jinhwan was wrapped around Jiwon's leg, screaming, "I NEED THE LUCK" and Jiwon was kicking at both of them.

" _I_  FOUND IT, YOU FUCKERS!"

A lot of gnawing and screaming later and Jiwon rolled out from under them, letting out a loud breath and the clover was limp between his thumb and forefinger. Then Junhoe was crouching down in front of Jiwon, tilting his head to the side and Jiwon helplessly looked at him.

"What, you've never seen a shameless man on his last leg?"

Junhoe shrugged, before looking at the clover in interest. "Where's that from?"

Jiwon blinked, looking at the clover, then back at Junhoe, then the clover before he held it out to the younger. "You can have it!"

Donghyuk and Jinhwan high-fived.

"Hey, hyung," Chanwoo said gently, coming up behind Yunhyeong to wrap his arms around the elder's torso and pull him closer, and he felt Yunhyeong jolt in alarm. He expected Yunhyeong to slap his arm and whisper-squawk at him to get off in case anyone could notice, but Yunhyeong seemed to have been affected by the warm weather and feelings too. He just leant back into Chanwoo, murmuring a "hey" and Chanwoo looked down at him, fond smile in place.

"What've you been doing?" Yunhyeong asked as he turned around and Chanwoo let go of him, shrugging.

"Chatting with Hanbin, really. About random stuff."

"What kind of random? He gave me a pretty piercing look when you guys came back..."

Chanwoo grinned, not surprised. "That's nice."

Yunhyeong gave him a weird look but took hold of his arm to drag him over to Donghyuk and Junhoe who were getting into an arm-wrestle with Jiwon as the very hyped-up adjudicator, and Jinhwan and Hanbin were next to them having a heated debate about something with badly hushed voices as they held onto each other's hands very aggressively. Basically two arm wrestles by the look of it. And before the others noticed, Chanwoo tugged Yunhyeong towards him and kissed his jaw. Yunhyeong blinked, looking back in amazement and Chanwoo gave him a casual look of 'why not?' and Yunhyeong's soft grin in reply was one of the best things to witness. All of Yunhyeong's smiles were really so amazing.

"Maybe I gotta thank Hanbin. Whatever you and him have been talking about has definitely made you more in love with me."

"Just wanna cherish you, in case you go."

Yunhyeong's eyes grew sadder as he mouthed an 'I love you' at him just as Donghyuk was tugging on his arm to say that Jiwon was  _definitely_  too biased to be an adjudicator and Jiwon was blowing up in fury at the accusation. Yunhyeong happily got involved in no time and Chanwoo smiled, something poignant settling in his heart.

They had a Gregory shoot later on. Hanbin had hustled them out of the park so they could get some time to relax at home beforehand, and apparently gooey love was the way to go today as Yunhyeong crashed into his bedroom and wrapped himself around Chanwoo, talking about a new video he was making. Chanwoo could only nod and smile but he was honestly listening. Sometimes Yunhyeong just looked really pretty. Distractingly pretty. So no prizes for who guesses why Chanwoo was in such a good mood for the shoot.

He noticed something later on while he was running out to the stylists. Hanbin was in the corner of the dressing room on the floor drowning in at least five massive puffy Gregory jackets, using them as a bed and a damn lifeboat by the looks of it as he rested. Chanwoo grinned, wanting to poke his head but then Jinhwan was already doing that for him, making Hanbin stir a little and make a soft noise. Jinhwan's smile was soft as he picked up one of the jackets and fell into the small nest too, cuddling up to Hanbin and the younger slowly opened his eyes then.

"Hyung," Hanbin asked raspily, softly, and Jinhwan reached out to flick a random spurt of Hanbin's hair.

"Yeah, baby boy."

"Will you go out with me?"

Jinhwan shook his head gently, resting his head on Hanbin's shoulder, and Hanbin closed his eyes again as he murmured a small "okay" and leant against Jinhwan too.

Chanwoo was pretty sure that his heart had just broken in two.

 

 

 

 

 

It was early. But this early was early as in far too early, one am early, way before  _sunrise_  early and Chanwoo was awake playing games simply because he couldn't sleep. He really didn't know why. His thoughts kept flicking between memorising lyrics and Hanbin's words to him at the park and him and Jinhwan at the Gregory shoot. Neither of them moved for ages after, and Jinhwan hissed at everyone who went near them. Hanbin had just slept. Or, pretended to. 

That was a whole week ago but it wouldn't stop making Chanwoo sad.

Time passed, just like Chanwoo had wanted, but his eyelids didn't get any heavier. He just killed, jumped, shot, and he'd get a second of 'I should sleep' once he lost a game but his hand would already be going towards the replay button. Well, it would be worthless trying to sleep when he didn't feel sleepy anyway. Right?

No, Chanwoo knew that was bullshit. The blue light and action from the games was obviously keeping him up further and eventually he just tore his headpiece off and slammed it on the table, sighing. He blinked and realised that his eyes hurt a little. Sleep was calling. No more games, no more worrying. He just had to try his best.

"Chanwoo? I heard...a noise from here..." a small voice said and Chanwoo blinked, instantly raising his head out of his hands. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah it's fine," Chanwoo muttered, but he didn't expect any less when Yunhyeong went in, closing the door gently behind him before tiptoeing over. He was graceful, of course, and clad in outing clothes for some reason, and Chanwoo frowned at him as Yunhyeong took a seat in the chair next to him (because Chanwoo had more than one chair and he was very proud of that). "Why are you changed?"

"We need to get ready soon. I mean, I'm a bit early but it's quarter to three already," Yunhyeong said quietly, voice still a bit sleep-raspy as he slipped his arm under Chanwoo's and moved closer. "Don't tell me you pulled an all-nighter..."

Chanwoo looked down sheepishly and Yunhyeong shook his head, lifting Chanwoo's to kiss his cheek and Chanwoo's slow heart got jumpstarted. "Sleep on my shoulder in the car."

"Okay..."

" _And_  you have a good while now. Come on," Yunhyeong hummed, coaxing Chanwoo gently out of his chair and Chanwoo just let him, not even weak but the thought of blankets and lying down was extremely inviting. Yunhyeong got him loosely cocooned before sitting next to him, tapping Chanwoo's forehead gently and Chanwoo peered at him. Confused by how angel-like Yunhyeong was being right now. Yunhyeong was a human,  _definitely_  a human, it was just the white clothes he was wearing...

"You're gonna...crinkle your outfit..."

Yunhyeong waved a hand in dismissal and Chanwoo kept looking at him. He didn't really know how to stop. 

"Hey, you're not gonna close your eyes?"

"No," Chanwoo said all of a sudden, slowly sitting up and shaking himself out of the cocoon, leaving Yunhyeong blinking like a confused puppy. "I want to talk. To you."

"Chan, you need to-"

"Hyung, please."

Yunhyeong looked uncertain but slowly nodded, reaching out for Chanwoo's hand and the way he gently clasped onto Chanwoo's fingers, massaging them lightly, it never failed to make Chanwoo smile. Yunhyeong had so, so many small ways to remind someone that he loved them. "Did I do anything wrong?"

"You never do," Chanwoo said softly, watching Yunhyeong turn shy. "I'm just wondering. Why did you ask me out?"

"Because us going out to see the sunrise was-"

"That's not a reason, hyung." 

Yunhyeong sighed, nodding defeatedly as he crawled forwards and fell into the space beside Chanwoo, and Chanwoo let him into the blanket. Yunhyeong smiled at him, entwining their legs underneath it before saying, "Sometimes you just feel things. And I- the things I feel, you know, my emotions, they're always really strong. It really started the first time we watched the sunrise. When you fell asleep on me. You looked so cute, and I thought that maybe it wouldn't be so bad to try."

"Have you dated a guy before?"

"I have."

"How was it?"

"It was okay. Nothing that special," Yunhyeong shrugged, squeezing Chanwoo's fingers gently. "We broke up because of the idol life, though. He said I didn't focus on him anymore."

"Oh, wait...that wasn't the girl when you were a trainee?"

Yunhyeong grinned at him. "Never quite used specific pronouns, darling."

Chanwoo was  _mind-_ blown. He felt terrible now for jumping to conclusions. "S-Sorry."

"It's fine, everyone else was calling him a girl so I can't blame you at all. But you're different to him. I've loved you for years beforehand so of course it's different," Yunhyeong murmured, leaning close to kiss Chanwoo's nose and he didn't move back very far after. Chanwoo looked at him, at the shining, emotion-filled eyes. Yunhyeong really did always feel strongly.

"Loved like...friend love, right?"

"Yep."

"I think I've had this small crush on you ever since we sang together in Mix and Match."

Yunhyeong laughed bashfully, slapping Chanwoo's shoulder. "You didn't."

"I did! You were cool, you were hard-working, you were  _always_  growing. And you're gorgeous."

"You're too nice to me."

"I'm really not. I'm a brat half the time-"

"And the other half, you're as sweet as sugar," Yunhyeong interrupted with a beam, resting a hand on Chanwoo's face and Chanwoo's heart was beating so hard against his chest as if it wanted nothing more than for Yunhyeong to take it. Chanwoo had always found it weird when people talk about a person taking or stealing their heart because then it seemed like some kind of  _vampire_  situation with no heart, but here he kind of vaguely understood. He wanted Yunhyeong to have his heart. He wanted Yunhyeong to have everything. "May I..."

"If you want," Chanwoo said bluntly, almost blurting it out and he froze a little when Yunhyeong moved closer, slotting against him and their hearts beat softly against each other's chests, but Chanwoo was distracted in no time by Yunhyeong's fingers gently running along his jaw and then- lips. On his. Oh God.

Chanwoo took hold of Yunhyeong's hip, gripping what he hoped wasn't too tightly as Yunhyeong pushed him back into the headboard, lips moving slowly and apparently Chanwoo's were following. Chanwoo was so weak and dizzied already that Yunhyeong could probably make him do anything and he kept having fears that his lips were too dry, too not soft, that he just wasn't a good kisser, but Yunhyeong's fingers kept tapping his jaw. As if to say,  _stop thinking, Chan._

And Chanwoo did stop thinking. Kind of.

"You're the cutest, you know that," Yunhyeong hummed, his hand slipping down to clutch Chanwoo's shoulder now and Chanwoo blinked, opening his mouth to say 'I just breathed' but Yunhyeong was bursting forwards to kiss him again with so much power that Chanwoo almost toppled off the bed. Yunhyeong's breathy giggling and apologies between kisses had Chanwoo feeling light-headed, he was probably joining in with him but everything was so ridiculous and cute and perfect that it didn't seem real. It was hard to keep track.

"I love you, I  _love_  you."

"Love you...too..."

Chanwoo didn't know how Yunhyeong was suddenly in his lap, or how Yunhyeong's arms were looped around his neck now but they were still kissing and Yunhyeong's scent was heady. Chanwoo stopped the kiss for a moment, just to bury his head into Yunhyeong's shoulder and breathe him in, and Yunhyeong's laugh sounded distant. Chanwoo let his lips touch the other's burning shoulder, wondering when his shirt had slipped that low and Yunhyeong sighed softly against him, in a way that made Chanwoo's heart constrict.

"Did you lock the door?"

"I-I don't kno-"

"He didn't."

Yunhyeong froze immediately and Chanwoo held onto him tighter in astonishment, breaths growing a little erratic as he quickly brought his head up. He was more used to the dark now, and he could see who was at the door clearer than he could see Yunhyeong before. And it was the worst person it could possibly be.

"Jinhwan-hyung, wait-"

"I'm not trying to interrupt!" Jinhwan said quickly, waving his hands about. "Or well, I-I kinda am. Not that I thought you'd...be doing...this- um, just going round telling people to wake up. Everyone's meeting up in this apartment and we gotta go in like, half an hour? Is that okay?"

"I mean...yeah. Yeah, that's fine," Chanwoo said, still wide-eyed and Jinhwan nodded, not quite meeting Chanwoo's eyes as he gave a thumbs up then scurried off. And Chanwoo was still in shock, wondering what the hell was going to happen now but then Yunhyeong's hand was on his cheek, and his sweet face made everything feel better.

"Hey, it's okay," Yunhyeong whispered. "I can talk to him."

Chanwoo shook his head. "I'm gonna talk to him now. We need to have a conversation about quite a few things, anyway."

Yunhyeong looked at him worriedly but he nodded, and Chanwoo leant forward to peck his lips once more and he could feel Yunhyeong melting, his hold on him getting looser. Chanwoo was careful when leaving his room, looking all ways to try and find out where Jinhwan was, but then he heard steps leading to the living area. As well as Jiwon yelling out "JINAN-HYUNG" which was a very helpful clue. 

"Hyung," Chanwoo called out once he had jogged over and Jinhwan turned around to look at him, blinking, and Chanwoo couldn't help but say, "That was literally the most out of character I've ever seen you."

Jinhwan raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know that we were in a book."

"What the hell was that? Usually you'd be yelling at us or collapsing on us."

"I don't know if  _you_  even knew what you two were doing but-"

"Yeah, and how did you feel about it? What's your thought process about me and him?" Chanwoo asked, voice level like he was asking questions in a job interview and Jinhwan's eyes widened, looking so caught off-guard.

"I...what? I guess, I'm surprised? But like, I'm happy for you? And maybe it makes sense? I wouldn't say anything against it if that's what you're thinking, I know you love each other so you won't hurt each other."

"What's happening?" Hanbin asked tiredly after he resurfaced from his room, and no-one answered him except for Jiwon who just shrugged, eating some crisps like he was watching a drama. Chanwoo and Jinhwan didn't take their eyes off of each other.

"I thought you would hate it. I thought you'd get angry."

"What? Why?!"

"Because we're idols and idol life doesn't allow it."

Jinhwan frowned, furrowing his eyebrows. "And why the hell do you think that that's what  _I_  think? Sure, maybe there's truth there but love goes past that. I know that."

"Then why won't you date Hanbin-hyung?"

The only noise heard was Jiwon's bag of crisps falling to the floor. Jinhwan's eyes slowly shifted to look at Hanbin who was behind Chanwoo, frozen, and Chanwoo swallowed. Now Hanbin was going to think he betrayed him.

"You told him?"

"Yes. Maybe I did," Hanbin said firmly, taking steps forward to stand next to Chanwoo who let out a gigantic mental sigh of relief. Hanbin was taking it in his stride like the amazing person he was. Jinhwan stared at Hanbin in disbelief.

"And why the hell did you-"

"Hyung, no, no, you're not allowed to ask that," Hanbin interrupted, taking a step in front of Chanwoo now, holding out an arm in front of him. Like he was protecting him. "You're not allowed to act like this is in any way your decision because this is  _my_  thing. It only matters to me who I tell. You get to keep your dignity either way."

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Oh yeah, okay, get angry, swear at me, I don't mind. It doesn't hurt me. You think that I haven't harboured any immunity from the amount of times you get mad at the stuff I do, the amount of times you reject me?"

"You're not completely immune," Jinhwan muttered and Hanbin crossed his arms.

"I know. That's because I fucking love you. Only if I stop  _that_  can I be 'completely immune' and that's never gonna happen. And here you are not letting me date you because you use the excuse of idol life yet you're fine with Yunhyeong-hyung and Chanwoo so just admit it, admit that you don't love me like that-"

"Hanbin, you don't- you don't understand  _anything_! You're such a kid!" Jinhwan yelled out, making Hanbin shut up immediately as angry red streaked across Jinhwan's face, eyes narrowed. Hanbin no longer looked angry, he just looked sad, pained like he'd been shot. "How many times have I said that I've hurt people before? I don't trust myself, Bin,  _that's_  the problem, and I don't ever want to hurt you, or do anything to you. I've known you for eight years. I know how much better you deserve so don't be like this, don't make grabby hands at everything you want because you  _can't_  get me and it's not because I don't love you. It's never been because of that."

This would be the exact time that the person in a drama would storm out, but Jinhwan didn't. He only deflated, unclenching his fists as he blinked away tears and called Jiwon to get him some water. It was the most obedient Jiwon had ever been.

Hanbin looked completely suspended in sorrow. Pathetic, teary-eyed, trembling lips, and Chanwoo took hold of his hand. "Hyung, go to bed."

"No," Hanbin whispered, voice cracking. "We need to go. Get your luggage."

The car ride there was quiet. Apparently, all of them had been there. All of them knew.

Chanwoo slept on Hanbin's shoulder instead of Yunhyeong's. He told the elder to go in a car with Jinhwan and talk to him, or at least make him feel better, and Donghyuk was there with them to ease things further. Chanwoo and Hanbin got Jiwon and Junhoe facing them who were completely silent, looking at their shoes, and it was weird. It was really weird.

"So let me get this straight," Jiwon said, voice careful and Chanwoo slowly opened his eyes to look at him warily. "Chanwoo and Yunhyeong are dating which is already like, what the fuck. Then Hanbin and Jinhwan-hyung are  _not_  dating..."

"But I want to date him," Hanbin mumbled.

"But you want to date him, and Jinhwan is in fallen soldier mode saying he doesn't want history to repeat."

"Sometimes when me and Jinhwan-hyung drink at night, he talks about this kind of thing," Junhoe said, chipping in surprisingly. "Says all this stuff about him being a terrible person once. That he's hurt and been hurt and he just doesn't need it anymore."

"Does he talk about me?" Hanbin asked, sounding small and Junhoe smiled at him. This was one of the first times Chanwoo had seen Junhoe properly being sweet to Hanbin.

"Sometimes."

Hanbin didn't ask any further. He only nodded and rested his head against Chanwoo's.

"Chan. Were you and Yunhyeong ever gonna tell us?" Jiwon asked, sounding the tiniest bit hurt and Chanwoo wanted to groan.

"Of course we were, we were just laying low. It's scary and new and strange. We're trying to take it really slow anyway, we kissed for the first time today and Jinhwan-hyung caught us which is how this whole mess happened."

"Ohhh, that makes sense," Hanbin said, nodding again while Junhoe and Jiwon looked more confused than ever.

"Wait, how long have you two even been dating?"

"Just like a month."

"Woah, that's quite a while."

"Are we that stupid that we couldn't see it?"

"Dating doesn't need to entail a massive change," Hanbin said wisely, recycling his words and Chanwoo grinned.

"What he said."  

There was another moment of silence, less strained than before. But then Jiwon was leaning forward and taking hold of Hanbin's hand, making the younger look up at him in surprise. Jiwon patted the hand with his other one, clutching it tightly with both. "I thought I was supposed to be your best friend, you know. You could've told me this. You could've told someone. If you told me then I could've told you about Jinhwan-hyung because we  _both_  know it, don't we? Trainee years was all about us helping each other to become better. We know how he feels about himself."

"So I was blinded by love," Hanbin said quietly, voice weak and Jiwon nodded, shrugging like 'what can you do?'.

"Maybe a little. That's okay, though, it's just that you shouldn't have let yourself bear all that weight when you're not exactly the most clear-sighted in the situation."

"So what do I do?"

"Do you still want to date him?"

"Yes...he's changed. He wouldn't do anything to me. It'd be my fault if he does..."

"Tell him this kind of thing, okay? Say it all and have a real, in-depth conversation," Chanwoo said, raising his head and Hanbin looked at him, eyes wet as he nodded, trying to build himself up again.

"O-Okay. I will."

"Hyung," Junhoe said to Jiwon who looked at him a little surprised, nodding. "Can I give Hanbin the clover?"

Jiwon looked amazed. "You still have that?"

Junhoe nodded like it was the dumbest question. "You gave it to me. And it's lucky. I had it pressed and stuff."

Junhoe reached into his jacket and took out a small box, making Jiwon's eyebrows go even higher, before he held it out to Hanbin. "Take it, for good luck. It'll go well if you have that."

Hanbin smiled, reaching out and curling his fingers around the box. Junhoe and Hanbin never said thank you to each other and it wasn't the time to start, so they only shared a look before they went back to normal. And Jiwon was still mind-blown.

"I gave that thing to you a freaking week ago!"

The system through the airport flowed like normal. Hanbin was more covered than ever, ridiculous hat, glasses, mask, and Chanwoo didn't stray too far from him just in case. The only time he dared get distracted was when Yunhyeong managed to slide his arms around him from behind when they were close to the check-in desk, squeezing him for a second before letting go, and Chanwoo was sure he was blushing.

"How's Jinhwan-hyung?" Chanwoo said quietly and Yunhyeong chirped, "Better. Lots of hugging took place."

"I don't doubt."

"Do you want to...go on a date? When we get there? Since I don't think a lot of people will recognise us..."

"Seriously? I'd love to."

"I have this urge to call a mariachi band and make a scene," Hanbin said out of nowhere and Jiwon slapped a hand over his mouth, dragging him away.

In near to no time, they were in the business lounge (Chanwoo found it so cool that they were able to get that kind of luxury now), everyone collapsing into the chairs and maybe this could have been the perfect place to sleep but Chanwoo's mind just had to take a different turn again. He could already see the others questioning him with their eyes as to why he was still standing up, so he went over to Yunhyeong who smiled at him, patting the seat next to him. But Chanwoo only held out his hand. "Hyung, get up for a second."

Yunhyeong tilted his head. "Why?"

"I think it's kind of time."

Chanwoo was actually quite surprised when he saw Yunhyeong understanding it so quickly, but he shouldn't have been. They may be so, sometimes  _painfully_  different, but Yunhyeong always understood him.

"Okay," Yunhyeong said, excitement in his voice as he took hold of Chanwoo's hand and let the younger pull him up. "Yeah. We got this!"

Chanwoo had no idea how to get everyone's attention at first. He just kind of coughed but it worked, and everyone looked tiredly interested enough to make him more confident which was unfortunate since he needed to keep his voice quiet. "Uh...so, I think you guys all know now but, to make it official. Yunhyeong-hyung and I are dating. It's been a month. It's hopefully gonna be more months. I hope you're okay with it."

Donghyuk was the one who started the cheers before the others erupted, making Chanwoo bashful as he hid his face behind Yunhyeong's shoulder and the elder grinned, leaning back to kiss him. Chanwoo's eyes widened, heart beating fast at the thought of anyone else catching them, just  _seeing_  them but it was so quick, and Yunhyeong was hugging him next. Whispering something in his ear that took a while to materialise in Chanwoo's mind.

"You mean so much to me, you know."

Chanwoo rolled his eyes, but he bit his lip when he realised that suddenly, he wanted to cry. He didn't know why and there was  _no_  reason for him to. But he wanted to. "That's so cheesy, hyung."

"You meanie," Yunhyeong whispered fondly, smacking Chanwoo's side and the younger grinned. Shit, now he wanted to cry more. This wasn't right. "I was cute so I get the window seat."

"You just want it to add in a vlog. I was the first YouTuber, hyung."

"Shut up!"

Soon, they had to go outside to board the plane and Chanwoo wanted to get on as soon as possible, until fingers were slowly wrapping around his.

"Chanwoo, look. It's the sunrise."

Chanwoo blinked, looking up and he realised that Yunhyeong was right. The sun was spilling out gently across the lighted sky and it looked so much more surreal than when it was just them cosied up at the park, where the world was silent and made way for them. But here was noisy, here was so many people, here was loud and open air, but the sunrise wasn't any less beautiful.

"Hyung, I'm sorry," Hanbin murmured a few yards away as him and Jinhwan looked up at the sunrise too. "I didn't know. I was an idiot."

"You're not."

"I just love you enough to know that I want to try. I kind of wanna hope that you do too. If you let yourself love me, I think you'll be happier. You won't be worrying about rejection or have all of these doubtful thoughts anymore."

"That's a bold choice you're deciding for me there."

"I'm just suggesting. I'm always going to be just suggesting, nothing more. I just want you to be happy now. So I'm going to stop being selfish. Today's going to be the last day I ask you it, and that's why I'm trying to convince you."

Jinhwan reached out to curl his sweater-pawed hand around Hanbin's.

"All I can say is us hurting each other is always a risk you've got to take in love. Love isn't perfect. It's lethal and fierce. And soft and sweet. In the end, you're what shapes it."

"Hanbin-ah," Jinhwan said, voice quiet amidst all the people and the roaring of the planes. "Will you go out with me?"

Hanbin bit his lip, tears filling his eyes as he looked down at the ground and nodded. Then Jinhwan was turning and capturing him in a hug as Hanbin cried on his shoulder and Jinhwan whispered soft words into his ear, soothing him. Chanwoo wanted to go and just hug both of them, saying everything from him understanding and being proud of them to just that he  _loved_  them and they deserved so much but they knew that. Chanwoo didn't need to physically show it.

Yunhyeong let go of his hand then and came up behind him, clasping Chanwoo's coat where it cinched at the waist before he kissed his nape.

"It looks beautiful, doesn't it?"

"Like always. Like you."

"I love you, Chanwoo."

Chanwoo reached down to take hold of one of Yunhyeong's hands before bringing it to his lips. "I love you too."

The sunrise was slowly fading, the soft egg yolk floating up into the sky as they all went to board the plane.


End file.
